For nearly a year now, some of the world's most renowned investors have poured in big money to get a slice of the action in India, one of the fastest-growing markets for ecommerce. This surge of capital from a plethora of sources, including risk capital funds and business conglomerates, is directed at a select group of online commerce companies - those who are leaders in their categories and have demonstrated a track record of capital efficiency.

Since 2011, equity investors have put in about $1.2 billion (over Rs 7,490 crore) into online product retail according to research firm Venture Intelligence. About half of this money came last year as investors returned to back companies that showed them a path to becoming profitable. "Serious money is now backing the serious players in the industry," said Raja Lahiri, a partner at financial advisory firm Grant Thornton India. This flow of capital has given rise to a pool of entrepreneurs with enormous personal wealth who have crafted unique management styles to propel their companies forward at a rapid pace. Close on the heels of the leaders are a posse of aspirants managing fast-growing specialist portals such as Peyush Bansal of Lenskart, Prashant Tandon of HealthKart and Supam Maheshwari, cofounder of baby care portal Firstcry.

These rising stars are grabbing investor attention and attracting serious capital that could catapult them into the exclusive club of India's internet commerce companies valued over Rs 1,000 crore. ET profiles the top leaders and aspirants who are driving the fortunes at some of the country's most valuable internet commerce companies

Lenskart

The founder and chief executive of Valyoo Technologies - which runs a string of e-commerce firms that range from selling eyewear and bags to watches and jewellery - is now arms deep in repositioning his company's operating model, as it strives towards profitability and a public listing. Bansal and his team have decided that it is Lenskart, Valyoo Technologies' online eyewear brand, that will drive growth and catapult the company to profitability, and they are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the same by fiscal 2015.

"For us to sell watches and bags is very different from running Lenskart. For us, that is e-commerce, and this (Lenskart) is something else. This is something which we have to innovate and build," says Bansal. For Bansal, an engineering graduate from Canada's McGill University, speed and flexibility in adapting to the changing environment is the key.

"Peyush knows that in this business (eyewear), which is so dependent on repeat orders, unlike regular e-commerce, it is imperative to satisfy the consumer," says Rohan Kakkar, 30, founder-director of New Delhi-based metal finishing services startup Vibewell Techniks.

Firstcry

In 2009, Supam Maheshwari decided to take a break. Two years earlier, he had sold his e-learning company Brainvisa to Indecomm Global Services for about $25 million (Rs 155 crore) and his lock-in contract was over.

However, he could not stay away from entrepreneurship for too long. In 2010, Maheshwari along with Amitava Saha, an IIM-Lucknow graduate, who led sales and business operations at Brainvisa, launched babycare site Firstcry. Punebased Firstcry is the leader in the babycare segment and last month raised Rs 92 crore from Vertex Venture Management and existing investors. Maheshwari, 40, an IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus, says the team is the most important element in an organisation. "You don't have to do it alone," says Maheshwari, who says the right attitude is more important than talent.

He says the fact that not a single person from his top team of about 12 people have not quit is a matter of pride to him. Jayant Kumar Mahto, vice president of operations at Firstcry, says initially Maheshwari was very hands on in his function.

"He was handling operations till I came on board but I started noticing that he slowly started stepping back and handed over the operations to me without any hiccups," says Mahto. "He is a task master but values contribution as well." HealthKart For most graduates from Ivy League MBA schools, Wall Street is a natural destination. Not so for Prashant Tandon. Armed with a degree from Stanford University's much-lauded Graduate School of Business, the 34 year-old decided to use the experience to launch his own venture.

HealthKart, the Gurgaon-based online pharmacy network, founded by Tandon and Sameer Maheshwari, a graduate from IIT Delhi and Harvard Business School, provides customers with access to consumer health products and services. It has also now branched into selling prescription drugs.

"Healthcare in India is an underserved and underpenetrated market. There is a huge demand," says Tandon. He makes no bones about the fact that while growth is important, profitability ranks alongside. The company has raised more than $20 million from a clutch of investors, who will be looking to make a profitable exit.